Protecting hearing from certain powerful antibiotics
Official title: Therapeutics to prevent aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss
Funded at Ting Therapeutics, INC. · NIH-11140406 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A company is developing a medicine to protect adults from hearing loss caused by aminoglycoside antibiotics.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ting Therapeutics, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 17, 2020 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $524,300 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DC019065-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11140406 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who receive or may need aminoglycoside antibiotics for serious Gram-negative infections would be the eventual candidates for this treatment.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not treated with aminoglycoside antibiotics or children under the adult age range would not directly benefit from this specific protective treatment as currently studied.
What this research studies
You may hear about a compound called TT003 (piperlongumine) that was found in a screen using zebrafish and helped protect hearing in mice given an aminoglycoside antibiotic. In this project the company will run the laboratory and animal studies needed to support an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, including tests that make sure TT003 does not reduce the antibiotic’s ability to kill bacteria. They will define safe and effective dosing and the therapeutic window in animal models that mimic patients with Gram-negative infections. The goal is to complete the preclinical work needed to move TT003 toward human testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the drug could prevent or reduce hearing loss in patients treated with aminoglycoside antibiotics.
How similar studies have gone: Some antioxidant-related approaches like ebselen or N-acetylcysteine have shown promise in early work, and TT003 has protected hearing in zebrafish and mouse models, but human benefit is not yet proven.
Where this research is happening
-
Ting Therapeutics, INC.
San Diego, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zuo, Jian — Ting Therapeutics, INC.
- Study coordinator: Zuo, Jian
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.